I've been interested in eating more gluten free foods for quite some time now, due to having met people with Celiac's disease and gluten sensitivity. I've read some cookbooks, and followed some leads on the internet. However, it has just sat on the back burner for quite some time.
A month ago, I went in to see my doctor who thankfully happens to be my sister (in-law, for clarification's purposes), as my thyroid was swollen. This wasn't the first time, but to play it safe I had it checked out, family history and all being what it is. All the lab work came out fine (phew!), and sis charted it as postpartum thyroiditis (ah yes, another byproduct of my miscarriage, will it never end?). Being the motivated person I am, I asked sis if there was anything I could add or take away from my diet to help stave off any future problems. The answer I got back was 'if it's going to happen, it's going to happen'. I breathed a sigh of relief, gave her a hug and went my merry way home.
Her answer satisfied me for about a week. Then I remembered Hippacrates' saying "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." I truly believe that what we eat matters to our body, and so I set out on a quest to find out more.
Turns out there are quite a few foods that can impact a persons thyroid. And wouldn't you know it, but gluten kept coming up as the number one offender, even surpassing soy!
Last summer when the first swelling episode happened and a friend mentioned it could be a goiter I read through a few websites detailing foods containing goiterogens. It blew me away that so many of my favorite foods were on the list, but since I didn't know for sure what was going on (and the swelling went down in a few days), I abandoned ship.
Now is a different story. Now I want to eat in the best way to keep my thyroid functioning properly for a long as possible. Being a black and white all or nothing kind of girl, I am finding balance difficult. I realize that gluten is just about everything that we eat. Try going one day gluten free and you will see what I mean! Our budget and my sanity cannot afford to just abandon the gluten ship. So I am trying my best to limit gluten foods to just one meal a day. Easier said than done.
I've never really thought of myself as a big bread eater. And bread itself that's probably true. I'll be the first one to pass by a dinner roll. Then I realized I just like my 'bread' a whole lot sweeter. Cookies, brownies, muffins. Busted. Sandwiches, bagels, english muffins. Guilty as baked. Thoughts swirl through my head, ok, I can't just live on rice and corn tortillas. I know that will get old real fast, and then I'll pine for the sweeter things in life, and not care anymore. But I have to care, I must care. Until there is a full body transplant available, I need to care.
And so, I am dabbling. And gleaning. Gleaning through the (thankfully!) massive amounts of recipes on the internet. I am so thankful that there are others out there who keep on persevering through the trial and error process of gluten free baking. I've read so many times 'if I could build a home with the inedible bricks that I've baked'. I get to prosper from their mistakes, and that is a wonderful thing for me. Because I have always been a quitter. It's that dumb perfectionistic first born tendency. If I can't get it right the first time, I am too frustrated with my failure to try again. That, and my budget cannot compensate for too many failed recipe attempts.
I have loved the few things that I've been brave enough to try. The first was a gluten free chocolate chip cookie. And since there is nothing strange in the recipe I'm linking it. The hardest part is grinding up oatmeal in your blender to make flour. The whole family loved it, and Phil was so impressed by the cookie that he bragged them up to someone near to us who has Celiac disease. So in the off chance that you will ever entertain someone who doesn't eat gluten, here is a safe and easy recipe that is sure to please everyone!
The next recipe that I tried was the chickpea flat bread. I was in heaven, felt like I was eating something fried from the fair. No frying necessary! There are only three ingredients, but the main one might cause you a bit more trouble to find. Chickpea flour. Since I have the ability to grind my own grains, I was able to make my own chickpea flour. My Hyvee carries it, so I'm sure it cannot be too hard to find. Just please don't try and grind chickpeas in your blender, they are much to hard and will damage your blade.
Being the sneaky chef that I am, I tried these little babies. Pretty good if you like your brownies on the gooey side. But if you are more of a chewy dry brownie lover, I wouldn't suggest them to you. The seven-year-old-who-doesn't-like-any-of-my-cooking-named-Abi thought they were ok until Phil asked what they were made of. When I said beans she promptly abandoned her half eaten brownie. Wesley and Lizzi loved them. Phil is a chewy brownie lover so they weren't a big hit. I thought for being a healthy food they were great! Not my favorite, but good enough to make again.
I've got a few more recipes waiting on my pinterest board, so off I go!
